| SWS SOUTH CENTRAL CHAPTER
Fall Business Meeting Minutes
October 7, 2006
Officers
Andy Nyman (LSU) – Current President - Present
Jeff Raasch (TPWD) – Past President - Present
Gary Pritts (Ensafe) – President Elect - Present
Matt Stahman (SWCA) – Secretary/Treasurer - Not Present
Board
Lisa Gandy (Whitenton Group) – Current Board Member - Present
Ken Krauss (USGS) – Current Board Member - Present
Kevin Stevens (Univ. N. TX) – New Board Member (2 Yr. Term) - Present
Julia Cherry (Univ. AL) – New Board Member (2 Yr. Term) - Present
President Andy Nyman called the Business Meeting of the
Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) South Central Chapter
to order at 11:15 AM. Andy welcomed all attendees.
Quorum: President Andy Nyman declared
a quorum since more than two members were present.
Minutes: A motion was passed not
to read the minutes from the previous meeting. A motion was
made to accept the minutes, was seconded, and passed.
Treasurer Report: Secretary/Treasurer
Matt Stahman had to leave early, so President Andy Nyman
asked if there were any questions regarding the finances
of the chapter requiring a report, and none were asked.
President Nyman then reported the current meeting: There
were 46 members in attendance, including 9 new members. It
was an inexpensive meeting to run, since there were no facility
charges, and only $3 per head per day refreshment charges.
The meeting had successfully fostered a lot of interesting
discussion and was considered a success. President Nyman
thanked the entire ERDC staff for their assistance hosting
the meeting.
President Nyman then asked for ideas for locations for next
year’s chapter meeting, and Gary Pritts suggested Memphis
and will look into locations.
The next order of business was a review of the SWS Strategic
Plan. Copies of a handout entitled “The Strategic Plan
identifies twelve tasks for every chapter” to all who
attended (Attachment 1), and a lengthy discussion ensued.
• It was suggested that to meet Task 5 (Promote wetland science at other
society conferences), any member may check out the SWS display and use it at
any meeting they are attending or hosting. It is easy to ship and possible to
assemble with only two people.
• In response to Task 9 (Offer and support symposia, field trips, workshops,
and special meetings, including those that provide information on basic wetland
identification, functions, and values for non-technical audiences), we discussed
the success of the previous year’s workshops. These workshops filled up
and attracted new members, and the need for more of them. However, it was suggested
that they need to be in areas other than Texas, to broaden the appeal.
• Also in Response to Task 9, it was suggested that we could sponsor a Regional
Delineation Workshop when the regional delineation manual is published.
• In response to Task 11 (Establish regional links with institutions that
serve under-represented groups), it was mentioned that NSF money is available
for non-white undergraduates going to the annual international meeting, so if
we know students that qualify, please notify the chapter.
• In response to Task 4 (Engage organizations representing other professions…in
activities…that address common interests in wetlands), Buddy Clarain mentioned
that the Science Coordination team of the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Restoration
effort meeting is coming up at LSU, and that SWS should be represented at the
meeting (He is attending, and could fill both purposes for now). Also, LCA needs
ad hoc technical review team members, including wetland scientists, so interested
people should contact him with their area of engagement.
The next order of business was to discuss a problem with
membership rolls. Last year, 19 new members joined and were
lost; they did not receive journals, their e-mails were not
entered into the national database, etc. The problem stemmed
from an employee of Burke and Associates and has since been
resolved. The chapter is now considering splitting the somewhat
overburdened Secretary/Treasurer position so the secretary
can better follow up on membership.
President Nyman then reminded everyone that the next international
meeting will be in Sacramento, California June 10-15.
He also reminded everyone that we have new Board Member
openings, and encouraged people to consider serving the chapter.
The next order of business was bought up by President Nyman.
Jeneke Visser recommended that the Committee for Louisiana
Recovery should have a wetland person on it. Should the Chapter
ask the Governor to put a wetland person on the committee?
Do we want to send a letter? Is it too activist? After some
discussion it was determined that the chapter was in favor
of sending a letter, and did not consider it too activist,
but that we would get clearance from International SWS before
proceeding.
The next item of business was a discussion of whether to
split the Secretary/Treasurer position, in light of the membership
issues we experienced last year. The new Secretary position
would be responsible for taking minutes at meetings and following
up with the business office to make sure that new members
are not lost. After some discussion, the motion passed to
split the Secretary/Treasurer job as proposed.
President Nyman reminded everyone that the call for nominations
for Board Members and Secretary would be coming up soon.
A motion was made quickly to adjourn the meeting in time
for the tour of ERDC’s scale models of the New Orleans
levees. The motion was seconded and passed.
President Nyman adjourned the meeting at 12:00 PM.
Prepared by Elizabeth Murray and Matt Stahman |
